Sean Combs – the rapper, fashion designer and impresario better known as Diddy – was arrested on Monday for allegedly attacking a UCLA football coach with a kettlebell – but his representatives on Tuesday insisted Combs was acting in self-defence.
“The various accounts of the event and charges that are being reported are wholly inaccurate,” Nathalie Moar, a spokeswoman for Combs Enterprises, said in a statement. “What we can say now is that any actions taken by Mr Combs were solely defensive in nature to protect himself and his son.”
Combs was arrested on Monday for an alleged assault at the athletic facilities of the prestigious Los Angeles institution, where Combs’s son, Justin, plays as a defensive back. According to TMZ, which first broke the story, strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi “was screaming at Justin on the field … riding Justin, screaming intensely at him.” Combs reportedly watched from the sideline, before confronting Alosi in his office. Combs was then arrested by campus police.
Combs was charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of making terrorist threats, and one count of battery. Combs was freed from an LA jail on late Monday after posting bail of about $50,000, several hours after his afternoon arrest, jail records showed.
The district attorney’s office doesn’t expect Diddy’s case to be presented to them until next week.
“We are confident that once the true facts are revealed, the case will be dismissed,” Moar said on Tuesday.
No one was seriously injured in the incident, police said.
The UCLA football coach, Jim Mora, later issued a statement that said: “I’m thankful that our staff showed the level of professionalism that they did in handling this situation. This is an unfortunate incident for all parties involved.
“While UCPD continues to review this matter, we will let the legal process run its course and refrain from further comment at this time.”
Alosi is a former New York Jets conditioning coach who became infamous in 2010 when he was suspended for tripping the Miami Dophins player Nolan Carroll on the sideline during a punt return. Alosi resigned from his post shortly after he was suspended by the Jets. He joined UCLA in 2012.
Justin Combs is a junior defensive back on the UCLA football team, but has played just a handful of games in his three years with the Bruins.
Earlier this year, an Arizona man accused Sean Combs of punching him in the face at a Super Bowl party. Combs was not arrested.
